Red Peony Gambler 5 Notorious Gambler 1969 Screenplay by Kazuo Kasahara and Norifumi Suzuki, directing by Kôsaku Yamashita.
Oryu collects a sick follower from a jail in a fishing village. She's befriended by a local man who lets them stay in his house. The follower soon dies and is buried. Oryu would like to stay until the 49 days of ritual are over. Mr Maruko, a yakuza gone straight, says she can work for him but she must set aside her gambling side and work hard. She agrees.
Maruko protests the high tax on rice with the local Yakuza bosses but they won't do anything to help. They are worried Maruko might stir up the locals some more so they send their third boss to strong arm Maruko and the villagers. The third boss is a real prick and things turn nasty pretty quickly. Oryu has to break her promise and help fight back. There's plenty of nasty thug action but eventually the baddies get theirs and there's a bit of peace in the village. It's a sad life in old Japan.
About the same as the others. The production values remain good, nice sets and costumes. It moves along fairly well and the 110 mins seems shorter than you'd expect. I'd be happy to watch these all over again someday.
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